Veterans get surprise visit from ex-England player

A military veterans football team in Herefordshire welcomed former England player Emile Heskey for a kickabout

A Help for Heroes backed football team had a surprise visit from a former England international.

Former Aston Villa and Liverpool star Emile Heskey, who has 62 England caps for England, joined the team of military veterans and emergency services staff for a kickabout at their ground in Millbrook Street in Hereford.

The visit was arranged by the Football Association's (FA) Just Play campaign and player Andy Bridgewater said having the celebrity guest on the pitch with them was "a massive morale boost".

Heskey spent two hours with the team, coaching and chatting to players.

"Just having one pass from Emile Heskey is exciting as I'm a mad Liverpool fan, so that was really cool for me," Mr Bridgewater said adding the team meant everything to him.

"I've lost friends through the military, taking their own lives," he said. "It means a lot for us guys to just get together".

Veterans football team player Andy Bridgewater played alongside Heskey for the friendly kickabout

Heskey said there were similarities between leaving an institution like the military and a career in football.

"The togetherness, the little banter that you have on the pitch, in the changing rooms, having a drink after," he said. "I think that's a bit similar."

"You see a lot of the players who, once they've finished they don't really know what to do or how to do things," he explained.

"They've just been in an environment which has been a group environment, together, leaning on each other, working as a group and then you move away from that because you've finished playing."

Emile Heskey signed a football for every player as a keepsake

The veterans' team trains at Herefordshire FA every Wednesday night and provides a place to socialise, exercise and talk.

Help for Heroes liaison, Paul Vicary, said he had received "amazing feedback".

He added the club had "helped [the players] mentally, physically, to get away from the noise, to get away from the work".

"To have Emile Heskey playing, the guys are chuffed to bits, so for the team, it's amazing."